Rutherford Cancer Centres Masterclasses
CANCER CARE TRANSFORMED!
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
Rutherford Health is at the vanguard of advancing cancer care, with a network of oncology centres across the UK known as the Rutherford Cancer Centres. Working with international technology and clinical partners, the Rutherford Cancer Centres are at the forefront of providing innovative cancer care with proton beam therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, imaging services and supportive care services.
The road to AI (artificial Intelligence) and patient modelling in cancer care.
The use of intelligent machine learning is already part of our daily lives. However, new technology needs to be filtered and adopted in a measured way to maximise its true benefit across the oncology sector, for example is the world ready and confident on AI (artificial intelligence) detecting all cancers?
At Rutherford we are on a journey to improve clinical outcomes and practices, as well as patient well-being. There are a lot of stages to navigate, but our modelling project has at its core a vision of speeding up the decision making for patients on a cancer treatment pathway.
In this masterclass, join Mark Crocker from Rutherford Health as we look at the Rutherford approach to patient and predictive modelling, and how bringing together machine learning and oncology technology advancements will ultimately lead to patient benefit and improved cancer care.
MR/RT: A new era of adaptive radiotherapy with Elekta Unity
By combining a high-field Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging system with a state-of-the-art LINAC, Elekta Unity allows clinicians to visualise the tumour & surrounding organs, then adapt the plan at the time of treatment. This enables very precise treatment delivery, with less toxicity to healthy tissue, and lowers the risk of complications.
In this masterclass we will review the current clinical status of Elekta Unity, with multiple cases from clinical institutions across the globe. We will also show how MR imaging is incorporated into the workflow for real-time plan adaptation. Furthermore, the capabilities of high-field MR enable the introduction of MR Imaging biomarkers to interrogate biologic changes, such as tumour response, that take place during treatment.
Join Ben Huard from Elekta to learn more about how the real-time adaptive capabilities of Elekta Unity are being used to personalise radiotherapy for each patient, every time they are treated.
Precision Radiotherapy: the long-term challenges in UK Delivery.
Currently, the way in which radiotherapy services are commissioned, organised and delivered needs to evolve, to ensure that patients benefit from the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan of earlier diagnosis, access to services, long term investment in equipment and workforce, and better outcomes.
Increasing demand from patients and limited capacity in the current system requires creative thinking! Drawing on the findings from the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group on Radiotherapy and Rutherford Health’s collaborations with the NHS, alongside research and innovation, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future of cancer care in the UK, as will be highlighted in this masterclass.
Melanie Kay, Head of NHS Engagement for Rutherford Health, has 25 years’ experience in the NHS, during which she worked on the policy development, commissioning and delivery of the proton beam therapy service.
Proton beam therapy and the growth in international demand.
Proton beam therapy is considered the most advanced form of radiation therapy, using high-energy proton beams to irradiate cancerous tumours.
Used today to treat many cancers it is particularly appropriate in situations where treatment options are limited, and conventional radiotherapy presents unacceptable risks to patients. These situations can include brain, head and neck, prostate, liver, lung, breast, and paediatric cancers, as well as other tumours near one or more critical structures and organs in the body.
In this masterclass we will look at the patient mix that is befitting from proton beam therapy across international centres, including an examination of the model and approach in the Netherlands in relation to lung patients. We will also discuss the new clinical indications for proton beam therapy and the opportunities this presents.
Frederic Dessy is a medical physicist, after working for more than 14 year in conventional radiation therapy he joined IBA, where for the last 13 years he has been involved in research and development, helping to define the future of proton beam therapy technology.
Proton Therapy - an innovation and research perspective - can it deliver what it promises?
In the UK, we have often been slow to adopt the latest cancer therapies, and this is certainly true for proton beam therapy where the UK lags behind Europe in its provision of this treatment option. With the development of both private and NHS proton centres this is changing and necessitating research in a number of fields to support this growth.
During this masterclass we look at the research areas being actively pursued in the UK from radiobiology to imaging and physics to health economics and discuss the potential of this modality to offer patient benefits and how its fits in with the existing cancer treatments.
Dr Barwick is Chief Scientific Officer at Rutherford Innovations, the research and innovation subsidiary of Rutherford Health who provide a network of cancer centres in the UK, he has over 25 years’ experience in industry/academia with a health research focus working extensively across the UK, Europe and the US.
Safeguarding healthy tissue in radiation oncology with balloon spacers
The Rutherford Cancer Centre in South Wales has been using the BioProtect ProSpace spacer balloons since April 2018, offering them to all prostate cancer patients including patients undergoing high-energy proton beam therapy. The centre was the very first in the UK to offer high-energy proton beam therapy and, with its national network, it is the UK’s leading provider of the treatment.
Bioprotect produce saline filled biodegradable balloon spacers designed to be inserted between the Rectum and Prostate. The ProSpace biodegradable spacers separate the prostate from the rectum, and thereby help to protect surrounding healthy tissue from radiation exposure. Protecting the Healthy tissues from unnecessary radiation exposure helps to limit the risk of both acute and late radiation side effects.
In this masterclass join Amy Warlow from Rutherford Cancer Centres and Mike Holyrod from Oncology Imaging Systems to find out more about how the BioProtect ProSpace spacer balloons have been deployed in practice.
Proton beam therapy advancement and evolving clinical indications
Proton beam therapy is considered the most advanced form of radiation therapy, using high-energy proton beams to irradiate cancerous tumours.
Used today to treat many cancers it is particularly appropriate in situations where treatment options are limited, and conventional radiotherapy presents unacceptable risks to patients. These situations can include brain, head and neck, prostate, liver, lung, breast, and paediatric cancers, as well as other tumours near one or more critical structures and organs in the body.
In this masterclass we will look at the patient mix that is befitting from proton beam therapy across international centres, including an examination of the model and approach in the Netherlands in relation to lung patients. We will also discuss the new clinical indications for proton beam therapy and the opportunities this presents.
Frederic Dessy is a medical physicist, after working for more than 14 year in conventional radiation therapy he joined IBA, where for the last 13 years he has been involved in research and development, helping to define the future of proton beam therapy technology.